Smithsonian Podcast: There's More to That

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.

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December 14, 2023 | 27:18

When Your Great Great Great Grandfather Is a Civil War Hero

Photographer Drew Gardner's life-long project, “The Descendants,” recreates famous portraits of historical figures featuring their direct offspring. His new focus is locating and photographing Black American descendants of Civil War veterans.

We speak with Janisse Flowers and her 9-year-son, Neikoye, who are descended from the Civil War drummer boy David Miles Moore Jr. Both Janisse and Neikoye share their surprise over how this experience made them more conscious of their heritage. We are also joined by Gardner himself, who describes the challenges—and, he hopes, the potential benefits—of asking Black Americans to revisit one of the most painful chapters of America’s history by (almost) literally stepping into their ancestors’ shoes.

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